Some argue Eli Manning’s two Super Bowls (and Super Bowl MVPs) are enough to get him into the Hall of Fame. The other side will point to the mediocrity that surrounded Manning throughout the rest of his 16-year-career.
To one of the many Manning backups, it’s simpler than all of that.
“Any NFL player (non-kicker) that starts for 16 years for the same team, and doesn’t miss a start because of injury, should be in the Hall of Fame,” tweeted Sage Rosenfels, with the Manning Hall of Fame debate revved up in light of the 38-year-old being benched for rookie quarterback Daniel Jones.
Manning has played 232 of the Giants’ last 233 games, sitting only once when former coach Ben McAdoo infamously replaced him with Geno Smith in 2017.
“That s–t is super human,” added Rosenfels, who played for the Giants in 2010.
Rosenfels’ reasoning didn’t sit well with another former Giant.
“So a kicker that starts for a team for 16 years and never misses a start for his team and performs under intense pressure at a high level (you have to be 85-90% every year to keep your job) doesn’t deserve the same respect??” said Jay Feely, a member of Big Blue from 2005 to 2006.
To which Rosenfels responded: “True. The difference is the rarity of QBs making it thru one 16 game season and not missing a game, much less 16 in a row.”
A player must wait five years before being enshrined in Canton, so get used to the Manning chatter should he retire at the end of this season as widely expected.